Edwardsville purchases new multi-use fire truck

A new fire apparatus should prove useful in several different emergency situations for the Edwardsville Fire Departments and other first responders.

The Edwardsville City Council last week approved the purchase of a 2016 “Quick Attack” Fire Truck. The fire department last year determined it would need to replace a brush truck, budgeting for payments on a $130,000 truck in 2016, funded through special sales tax revenues. Department staff decided the community would be better served with a multi-role apparatus.

The new Dodge 5500 will cost $128,352, financed over four years with annual payments of $34,236. It will carry a 400-gallon water tank, a 10-gallon foam cell, an “attack” fire hose as well as two wildland firefighting hoses, water intake and discharge valves and 12-volt LED scene lights. The truck should be in operation beginning in 2016.